The New York camp has become more organised in recent days, and now even has its own newspaper - the Occupied Wall Street Journal - to cover the "revolution".

The movement appears to have been galvanized by the arrest of more than 700 protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge at the weekend, largely for disorderly conduct.

A larger rally is planned for Wednesday, with backing from powerful union groups including the Transport Workers Union, who gave their support after police commandeered city buses to collect arrested protesters.

Similar protests have now sprung up in other cities, including Chicago, Portland in Maine and Columbus, Ohio.

In Los Angeles, protesters stood near the court where the late pop star Michael Jackson's doctor is being tried for manslaughter, demanding media coverage.

A demonstration was also held on Monday in front of the statehouse in the Massachusetts city of Boston and a protest is being planned for Toronto in Canada later this month.

The loosely-organised Occupy Wall Street movement say they have been inspired by uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, and by large-scale youth protest camps in cities like Madrid, Spain.

They say they will continue to stage their protests peacefully until their demands for a fairer society are met, saying it "could be the beginning of a whole new social dynamic in America".

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